Rail-joint



H. F. ROACH.

RAIL 101m.

ION F D MA Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY F. ROACH, OF SAT. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

RAIL-JOINT.

Application filed March 6,

`and usefullmprovement in liaihloints, of

which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to rail joints of the type in which two members or bars that are arranged at opposite sides of the webs of the abutting rails are provided with portions wliich are wedged between the heads and the base flanges of the rails.

The joint members or splice bars of the above' mentioned typel that are now in general use are provided at their upper and lower edges with inclined rail engaging surfaces that merge into convexed surfaces which are tangential to said rail engaging surfaces. lVhen such a oint member is first installed the inclined rail engaging surfaces thereon bear snugly against the undersides of the heads and against the upper sides of the base anges of the rails, the-convexed surfaces on said member are positioned opposite to and some distance away from the fillets ofv the rails and the inner side of said. member is spaced some distance away from the webs of the rails, namely, the vertical portions of the rails lying between the inner terminals of the rail fillets, the distance between the inner sides of the joint member and the webs of the rails being generally referred to as the draw of the joint members. After the rails or the inclined rail engaging surfaces on the joint members have become worn the bolts of the joint are tightened so as to draw or move the joint members inwardly toward the rails sufficiently to compensate for the wear on the coperating surfaces of said members and rails. It is possible to main.. tain the desired snug engagement o r wedging action between the joint members and the rails for some time after said members have been installe-d, but after the coperating inclined surfaces on the rails and the joint members have become worn to such an extent that the vconvexed surfaces on the joint members engage the llets of the rails, it is impossible to maintain the 'joint members in sufliciently snug engagement with the rails to prevent the rails from pounding on said joint members when a load passes over thcii'ail joint. In other words, when the Specification of Letters Patent.

rails its maximum distance,

Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

1920. semi No. 363,899.

joint members are new and the draw is greatest, it is possible to maintain the contiguous ends of the rails in the saine respective planes as to line and surface but after the joint members have become worn, the draw becomes less until finally the joint members Contact with the webs of the rails and the draw is zero, at which point it is necessary to remove the joint members and substitute new or unworn members in place of same. This defect or objectionable chai'- acteristic of the ordinary rail joint member or splice bar is well recognized and it has been estimated that the ordinary angle bar or joint member now in general use func tions properly or exerts the proper wedging action on the rails for only approximately 46"( of the life of said joint member. Dur- 'ing the remainder of tlie life of the joint member its efficiency is materially reduced by reason o f the convexed surfaces on the same bea-ring against the fillets of the rails and thus preventing the inclined surfaces on the upper and lower edges of said member from being held iii snug engagement with the heads and the base flanges of the rails. a

It has been attempted to remedy the above mentioned defect of the ordinary rail joint member or splice bai'by forming grooves or recesses in the same intermediate the inner side face of said member and the inclined surfaces thereon that bear against the heads and the base. flanges of the rails so as to eliminate portions on said member which contact with the fillets of the rails before said member has moved inwardly toward the In theory, a' joint member or bar of the character just referred to, namely` a member provided with grooves or recesses located opposite the fillets of the rails, overcomes the defect or objectionable characteristic previously mentioned of the ordinary rail joint member or splice bar, but in practice such a oint member has no practical value. and is as inefficient as a joint member provided with convexed surfaces located opposite the fillets of the rails. This is due to two causes, first, it cannot bc made`commercially, owingv to the fact that it necessitates the use of rolls provided with beads of such diminutive size that they soon break down, thus making the cost of manlifacture prohibitive` and second. when such a joint member is in service` the material in the inclined rail engaging portions of the same flow into the recesses or depressions in said member on account of the fact that there are no portions on said member to resist the lateral component forces produced by the .pressure on the inclined rail engaging sur- The distortion or.

faces on said member. flowing of. the material into the grooved portions of the joint member form projections thereon that bear against the fillets of the rails and obstruct the inward movement or draw of the member toward theI rails in the same manner as the con vexed surfaces on the ordinary angle barv or joint member now in universal use. In fact. a recessed or grooved joint member is apt to be less efficient than a joint member provided with convexed surfaces disposed opposite the fillets of the rails, on account of the tendenc)1 of the material in a grooved or recessed member to flow and form projections thereon soon after the member has been installed. Accordingly the grooved rail joint member or bar that was devised to remedy the defect above mentioned of the ordinary joint member or angle bar has never gone into commercial use, as it is of such design that it cannot be made commercially and will not stand up in service.

The object of my invention is to provide a rail joint member or bar that can be held in sufficiently snug engagement with the heads and base flanges of the rails throughout the major portion of the life of said member to prevent the rails from pounding and wlich is of such design that it has the following essential characteristics necessary for a successful rail joint member.

First: It can bev rolled easily and at no greater cost than an ordinary rail joint member or angle bar; and

Second: The material in the inclined rail engaging portions or surfaces of the same will not flow sufficiently when the joint member is in service to form projections thereon that interfere with the inward movement or draw vof said member toward the rails. v

I have Iherein illustrated my invention` em bodied in a Roach rail joint of the general type described in my prior Il. S. Patent No. 1,258,249, dated March 5, 1918, but I wish it to bev understood that my present invention is applicable to any type of rail joint member or bar that bears against the heads and base flanges of the rails and which is adapted to be moved horizontally ,toward the webs of the rails to take up wear on the coperating surfaces on the joint member and ou the rails.

Figure l of the drawings is a side elevational view, partly broken away, of a rail joint embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional View, illustrating the preferred form of my invention; and

tained in position by means of bolts that pass transversely through said members and through the webs of the rails. lEach of the joint members B is provided at its upper edge and at a point intermediate its ends, with an inclined rail enUaging surface 2 that bears agai-ns the undersides of the heads of the" rails and at its lower edge with an oppositely inclined rail engaging surface that bears against the upper sides of the base flanges of the rails, as clearly described in my prior U. S. Patent above referred to. It is immaterial, however, so far as my present invention is concerned, whether the rail engaging portions 2 and 3 on the joint member extend for only a portion of the length of said member or throughout the entire length of said mem- Instead of providing the member B with a convexed surface at the upper edge of the same that is tangential to and merges into the inclined surface on said member that bears against the heads of the rails, as is now the universal practice in rail joint members of the type that are wedged between thc heads and the base flanges of the rails, I form my improved joint member B in such a manner that there is no portion on the same in proximity to the inclined rail engaging surface 2 that will act as an obstruction to prevent said member from being drawn inwardly toward the rails sufficiently to maintain the required snug engagement between said Amember and the heads and the base Hanges of `the rails throughout the major portion of the life of said member, or, in other words, until the inner side of said memberbears against the webs of the rails. I also make the member B of such form or contour that it can be rolled easily and provide it with a portion that resists the lateral component forces produced by pressure on the inclined rail engaging surface 2 which tend to cause the metal in said surfaces to flow inwardly toward the rails.

In the preferred form as shown in Fig. 2, the member B 1s provided with flat surfaces 4 that are located between the inner side 5 of said member and the inclined rail enga ing surfaces 2 and 3 011 said member that ear against the undersides of the heads and the uppersides of the base flanges of the rails. When the member B 'is in operative position the flat surfaces 4 thereon will be dlsposed opposite of my invention,

the fillets 6 of the rails, thus providing sufficient clearance between the member B and the fillets of the rails to permit said ineinber to move inwardly toward lthe rails its maximum distance without liability of any portions on said member' contacting with or bearing against the rail fillets and thus obstructing the inward movement or draw of said member B toward the rails. A. rail joint member of the construction above described can be rolled easily and at no greater expense than an ordinary rolled angle bar, owing to the fact that it -is of massive Vdesign and has no surfaces that necessitate the use of rolls equipped with beads. Another desirable feature of the member B which is an essential requisite of a practicable rail joint member, is that the material in the rail engaging portionsl 2 and 3 on same will not flow sufficiently when said member is in service to thus form projections in proximity to the rail engaging surfaces 2 and 3 that interfere with or obstruct the inward movement of the member B toward the rails. I obtain the desirable characteristics just referred to by providing the member B with portions arranged in front of the rail engaging surfaces 2 and 3 that resist the lateral com.- ponent forces inwardlyv toward the rails, produced by the pressure that is exerted on the rail engaging surfaces 2 and 3 when a load passes over the joint. In Fig. 2 I have used dotted lines to indicate the extreme inner ends of the rail engaging surfaces 2 and 3 and to show the direction of' the resultant effect of the load on the surfaces 2 and when a wheel passes over the joint. By referring to said figure it will be noted that the portions of the member B on which theflat surfaces 4 are formed are located in front of the 4dott-ed lines :11, or, io other words, between the extreme` inner ends of the rail engaging surfaces 2 and 3 and the inner side 5 of the member B. Colisequently, the portions 4 of the. member B resist the lateral component forces which tend to cause the material in the rail engaging portions 2 and 3 to flow inwardly toward the rails.

lVhile I prefer t0 provide the member B with portions having flat faces 4 which are disposed atan angle to the rail engaging surfaces 2 and 3, it is not absolutely essential that the portions of the member B which resist the lateral component forces on the rail engaging surfaces have flat faces, so long as the planes of the surfaces of said portions intersect the planes of the rail engaging surfaces 2 and 3. In other words. in my improved joint member the portions of the same which are disposed opposite the fillets of the rails are not tangential to the rail engaging surfaces 2 and 3, whereas, in the ordinary joint member or bar the convened portions of the same which are disportions of the bar are symmetrical, but

this is immaterial, so far as my invention is concerned, as my broad idea contemplates providing one or both edge portions of the joint member with surfaces op osite the fillets of the rails, the planes of w ich intersect the planes of the rail engaging surfaces at the upper and lower edges of said member. In Fig. 3 I have shown another form of' my invention. wherein the portions of the member B that prevent the material in the rail engaging portions 2 and 3 from flowing maybe provided with convexe'd surfaces 4" which are of such contour or curvature and so dis osed with relation to the rail fillets that tiey will not contact with said fillets until the member B has nearly reached its maximum distance inwardly toward the rails.

Nor is it essential that the member B bel provided with relatively large masses of material arranged in front of the rail engaging portions at the upper and lower edges of said member. so long as sufficient material is provided to resist the lateral component forces on the rail engaging portions 2 and which tend to cause the material in said portions to flow inwardly toward the rails. Therefore. in Fig. 4 of the drawings I have shown a rail joint member constructed in accordance with my invention whose inner side 5a is convexed throughout the major portion of its height or throughout its entire height, and whose plane intersects the planes of the rail engag-A ing surfaces 2 and 3. the portions of the inner side 5 of said member which are disposed opposite the fillets of the rails being so shaped and arranged that they will not contact with the rail fillet-s at any point in the life of' the member B. and thus interfere with' said member being drawn inwa rdly sufficiently to ca use the surfaces 2 and against the webs of theI rails. thus producing a rail joint member that is 100%y efficient. or` in other wordsv` efficient throughout its entire life. This is accomplished by slightly reducing the width or bearing area o'l the rail engaging surfaces 2 and 3 so that the planes of the surfaces i" which intersect the planes of the rail engaging surfaces 2 and 3 will start at points slightly farther from the fillets of the rails than-the starting points of the surfaces 4 and 4a on the niembers l shown in Figs. 2 and 3. j

A rail joint member or bar of the construction above described is efficient throughout the major portion ofits life or throughout its entire life depending on the starting point of the portions of the same whose plane or planes intersect the planes of the oppositely inclined rail engaging surfaces 2 and 3 because said portions are of such design that the rail engagingsurfaces 3 and 4 can be held in sufficiently snug engagement with the rails to pre-vent the rails from pounding on `the members of the joint when a load passes over the joint; it can be rolled easily and at no greater cost than an ordinary angle bar or joint member, and it is of such design that the material in the rail engaging portions of the same will not flow sufficiently to form projections that interfere with the draw of the member.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A rail joint member or bar provided at its upper edge with an inclined rail engagingfsurface, and a portion on said member thatv resists the lateral component forces produced by pressure on said rail engaging surface and which is so disposed with relation to the fillets of the rails that it will not obstruct lor interfere with the movement of said member inwardly tovard the rails` during the major portionl of the life of said member.

2. A railjoint member orbar adapted to be wedged between the heads and base flanges of `two abutting rails and being of such cross sectional shape that no portion of the same will contact with the fillets of the rails and thus obstruct the inward movement of said member during all or the major portion of the life of the same, said member having sufficient material in front of the rail' engaging portions of the same to resist the i lateral component"forceswhich tend to cause the n'iaterial in said rail lengaging portions to fiow toward the rails.

Si. A\ rail joint member or bar provided at its upper edge with an inclined surface that is adapted to hear snugly against the heads of the rails. and a portion on said member' that resists the lateral component forces produced by the pressure on said rail engaging surface and which is of such shape and location that said member can move inwardly toward the ails its maximum' distance without being interrupted by the upper fillets of the' rails.

4. A rail joint member or bar provided at its upper edge with an inclined rail engaging surface that is adapted to snugly engage the heads of the rails, and a portion on said member that resists the late al component forces produced by pressure on said yinclined 4rail engaging surface and provided witha fiat face that lies between sa'id rail engaging surface and the inner side of said member.

5. A rolled rail joint member or bar having its inner side disposed opposite the webs of the rails, oppositely inclined rail engaging surfaces on the upper and lower edges oft-said member, and portions on said mem-.

ber intermediate the inn'er side of the samel Y major portion of the life of said member.

6. A rolled rail joint member provided with an inclined surface that is adapted to bear against the underside of the heads of the rails, and a portion on said member disposed opposite the upper fillets of the rails, the plane of said portions intersecting the plane of said inclined rail engaging surface.

7. A rail joint member of such cross' sectional shape that it will be wedged between the heads and the base flanges of the rails when it is arranged in operative position, said member having a portion opposite the upper fillets of the rails whose plane intersects tlie plane of the upper rail engaging surface ofv said member and which is of such f'orin and arrangement that it will not interfere with the draw -of said member throughout the entire life of said member.

8. A rail joint member or bar provided at its lower edge with an inclined rail engaging surface that is adapted toI snugly engage the base flanges of the rails, and a. portion on said member that resists the lateral component forces produced by pressure on said inclined rail engaging surfaces and provided with a flat face that lies-between said rail engaging -surface and the inner side of said member. f

9. A rolled rail joint member provided with an inclined surface that is adapted to vbear against the. top side of the base flanges rails and disposed in a plane that intersects the plane of the said inclined rail engaging surface.

HARRY F. ROACH. 

